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EXECUTIVE BOARD COVERAGE

Human-animal bond committee receives 'higher' calling

The AVMA Committee on the Human-Animal Bond is expected to become more overarching in its objectives and less task orientated as part of a new plan approved by the Executive Board for the committee.

During its November 2007 meeting, the Executive Board approved a recommendation from the Governance Performance Review Committee that the Committee on the Human-Animal Bond evaluate its charge and suggest modifications that would cause it to be "more overarching and less task-oriented."

A separate memorandum from the GPRC to the CHAB suggested the committee explore a "higher level purpose" for its activities.

The CHAB then conducted a review of its charge, objectives, and entity description and submitted its recommendations for revision to the board in June 2008; those revisions were disapproved.

After receiving additional clarification and direction from the board, committee members discussed their charge during their September 2008 meeting and submitted the results of their deliberations to the board for approval.

According to the committee's new charge, the group "shall assist the profession in maintaining, fostering, and promoting human-animal relationships. The Committee shall investigate and interpret the positive and negative impacts of the human-animal bond on veterinary medicine, and shall serve as the principal source of related definitions, information, and recommendations for the AVMA."

Several approaches to fulfilling its objectives are listed in the charge, including exploring and integrating the human-animal bond within the one-health concept, and encouraging awareness of the bond and its effects within veterinary medical education.